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Sunday, May 19, 2013

Memorial Day Weekend is next week and
for a lot of folks, that means the start of the grilling and BBQ
season. With all of the great things that come with cook outs and
firing up that grill, one annoyance that comes with it is flies.

I have found something that turns that
annoyance into entertainment. It is the Bug-A-Salt salt gun and it wins the coveted Nibble Me This
Best Grilling Accessory Award of 2013*.

It is an ingenious
non-toxic solution that uses a pinch of common table salt and air to
take out flying or crawling pests.

When you light up your
grill or start prepping food outside, it is like a dinner bell for
flies and draws in every flying maggot for miles and miles, right?
I've tried the pennies in a ziptop bag of water and it doesn't keep
them away (Mythbusters busted that myth). Swatting a fly with a fly
swatter just splatters it all over your cooking or eating area, yuck.
The Bug-A-Salt kills the fly with about 1/8th tsp of
table salt but leaves the fly whole for easy, safe clean up.

I found the Bug-A-Salt
when they were doing a kickstarter type campaign last year or so. I
checked back recently and found they are in full production now so I
bought one for review.

Kills
flies, mosquitoes, roaches and other pests with a range of 3 feet

non-toxic

pump action - No battery required

bug remains whole for easy clean up

excellent for flying insects indoors near windows, corners, and ceilings

Testing

We
have cycled through two hoppers of salt for 100+ shots. This thing
works exactly as advertised. As shown in the video, we found it to
be accurate even at 3 feet away from the tiny target. Accuracy on
still targets is close to 100%. Trying to hit an erratic flying
target is harder but definitely doable. So far it has taken out
flies, meal moths, invasive brown stink bugs, and ants.

To see a video of the accuracy test in action, go to the 2:47 mark in this video that I made.

It
is a quality build and feels sturdy, like it will last. We did have
a couple of misfires at first. We quickly found that those were
caused by cocking the gun while tilted AND the salt supply was low,
so it just didn't get a full load of salt. Since then it has
performed flawlessly. If you do run into problems, they have a
hotline for customer service...I'm pretty sure it's the owner's
actual mobile or office phone. I love working with smaller companies
like that!

Summary

Expensive
for a “fly swatter”? Absolutely. But the x-factor is the
entertainment aspect. Without exception, EVERYONE that I have shown
the Bug-A-Salt has wanted to hold it and shoot it several times.
This would be fun to have at BBQ competitions, picnics, campgrounds
and such. It also works GREAT when a fly or gallon nipper gets INTO
your house.

I'm
glad I finally bought one and I would recommend it.

Note:
This should only be used on nuisance pests. Most insects are
beneficial and are important parts of our ecosystem. But flies,
mosquitoes, and roaches? Take 'em out!

Memorial Day Grilling Giveaway

After
buying my Bug-A-Salt, I reached out to them and they are willing to
sponsor my Memorial Day Grilling Giveaway. One lucky winner will
receive their very own Bug-A-Salt just in time for those outdoor
Summer Activities.

To
enter leave a comment below and tell me where you would use your
Bug-A-Salt if you win it. (Be sure to leave a way for me to reach
you if you use the Anonymous comment option. Leave an email or forum
name)

You
can get a bonus entry by tweeting a link to this blog post and using
the hash tag #bugasalt

Entries
will be accepted until Noon Eastern time on Memorial Day 2013.

Winner
will be selected and notified via email and a post update on Memorial
Day.

Winner
has one week from notice to provide shipping information or a runner
up will be selected at random.

*Yeah, I normally don't give out awards on this blog, I just made that award up. Bloggers are good at
just making awards up like that, it sounds “important”. Actual
cash value of this award plus a dollar will get you a cup of coffee
at McDonalds. But in all seriousness, this is my favorite grilling
gadget I have gotten this year.**

**This just in. The
above footnote has been awarded the Nibble Me This Best Footnote of
2013. I would like to thank my readers, my supporters, and
especially my dad, who told me when I was 7, that if I applied myself
and worked hard, I could one day win the Nibble Me This Best Footnote
Award.

71 comments:

Very cool! Lots more fun than the racket swatter that cooks bugs. We could really use it here - we cook outside a lot and living out in the country, we have lots of bugs. Thanks for the chance to win this fine gadget!! Tramp 1 would have a summer of fun with it!

Oh my...this gun is awesome! My kids and husband like to tease that I'm the "fly police." I must utter the words " hurry up and close the door" a millions times a day in the summer. I can't stand it when the flies come inside. If they do get inside then I chase them with a squirt bottle full of windex and I windex them to death (this is rather messy and requires a special skill). I can't even tell you how much fun I would have with this gun (both inside and outside). Instead of carrying around the windex I could actually carry a gun! Then I'd really be a badaXX.

OK...I HAVE to get one of these. I participate in numerous bbq competitions throughout the season a grill at home 3 to 4 additional days each week. My kids are relentless with their fly swatting...put this weapon in their hands...the fly population would be cut in half overnight!

I HAVE to get one of these!!! I participate in numerous bbq competitions throughout the season in addition to grilling at home 3 to 4 days a week. My kids are the insect sentries. They take care of more fly's than any electronic device could ever kill. Put this in their hands...the fly population would be cut in half overnight :-)

Fun Giveaway! I've never seen such a thing. One thing nice about Colorado out-0f-doors, not too many bugs. Except for an occasional pesky wasp. Which I'm scared to death of. I'd love to shoot them with this salt instead of spraying Raid all over the deck.

This bug a-salt is too cool for school. Why didn't someone develop this years ago? As a kid we used to use squirt guns to shoot flies. Lots of fun but not so good to eliminate them. This is perfect. Living in Nortwest FLorida, we get dog flies that are vicious. This gun would be a Godsend. I would use it on the patio for weekly family cookouts and camping trips with my son and grandsons.What fun! Rod in Destin. (rodatthebeach@cox.net)

I would love to win this oh-so-neato tool so I could give it away to my brother who is recently a proud owner of an Egg grill. He sent us a photo of his first cooking project AFTER he had built, in his workshop, a table that attaches around the grill. He is a recently retired optometrist near buggy Indy (but just a sixty-something kid who still likes toys and fun) and now subscribes to Nibble Me This after I forwarded your emails. I am picturing all of the three siblings and spouses during our annual get together each having one of these and having contests while he cooks something on his Egg!pkfischbach@comcast.net

Hey Chris! I'm back to blogging ::doing cartwheels and jumping up and down:: This little contraption you have here is too cool! If I don't win I still think I'll have to order one for a Father's Day gift. Come on, who doesn't want a gun to shoot bugs? We will all be fighting over who get's the next bug to arrive instead of running away screaming like little girls ;)

By the way, I featured your grilled snow crab and corn on my menu plan today.

"The difference between men and boy is the size of their toys!" but in this case there is no difference! Ha! At first I thought you were joking - loved the video - and by the end of it I had decided to order one for my dad for Father's Day! We don't have many flies in Seattle...the rain takes care of them...but I'd love to win one to use it on the mister, kidding, I'd use it on the three mosquitoes we get each year and I'd also have a special BBQ and "shoot-off" with my friends! They could shoot the salt onto their margarita glasses! They could shoot the salt onto their steaks! And they could shoot backwards over their shoulders for good luck! The possibilities are endless! I WANT ONE!

Awesome gadget! Great review video...brilliant aluminum foil target shooting...worked perfectly. I'd love to win one of these salt guns. I can see me on my back deck in GA, grilling on my BGE, blowing huge horse flies out of the sky. I could probably sell the movie rights to Hollywood...a new action hero. Who would play the lead...Cruise, Willis, Stallone...

Anon - Actually I have had it for several weeks, I've been delayed in getting a post up. I cook outside 4-5 nights a week and this has been very effective at taking care of pests while trying to prep and cook. I don't regret spending the $35 at all.

My husband would have the time of his life with this! Its right down his alley. He would use it anywhere he could take it and use it, He fishes and hunts and camps so maybe there might be somewhere there he could use it. But of course around the house on the back patio etc. So there are plenty of place that we could use this

I want this so bad! My husband will never help me by swatting flies. I swear he would let them land and walk around on his head. I have to hit him with a swatter to get him to go after flies for me. This tool would give him some incentive to help me control the flies! I would use it on my deck!

I would love to have this for when I'm grilling out in the backyard with my friends and family. Since I am in a wheelchair using an actual fly swatter is a lot harder than it sounds and the Bug-A-Salt may actually make so I can defend myself and my grill from flying pests =D dlskevin@yahoo.com

Last summer, nothing worked. Swatters, foggers, sprays,or those stupid electric tennis racket-looking things. Time to get serious. Full on tactical patio defensive position. Rucksack full of salt. And finally, a weapon system I can use while drinking beer.

Last summer, nothing worked. Swatters, sprays, foggers, and those stupid looking electric tennis racket things. Time to get serious with a full on tactical patio defensive position and a rucksack full of salt. And finally, a weapons system that I can use while drinking beer!

Awesome tool for bug eradication ! Just built my new Smoke Hollow 4 in 1 grill and can picture me with my spatula in one hand and this in the other. If only I had a 3rd hand for the beer ! Thanx for the opportunity to possibly win one of these ! briank@roadrunner.com

This would work so well when I'm sitting around the ole offset smoker at the ranch, using the excuse that the pit has to be tended every 10 minutes so that I get out of doing actual physical labor. Cold Lone Star beer (or Shiner) in one hand and the Bug-A-Salt in the other. :)

Very cool "toy"...lol. Everytime I fire up my UDS (smoked two briskets, two pork shoulders and pit beans this weekend) the flies swarm in. It is crazy!!! I thought i was the only one with this problem...glad I am not since I was thinking it may be me or my UDS!!! Would love to kill the pesky flies with this gadget...thanks for doing this contest, and I hope you have a great Memorial Day Holiday!

I lost the right to bear arms in my own house 5 years ago when I got married to my wife (her rule). This gift would help reclaim that right and some of the inner redneck in me. Our 5th wedding anniversary is coming up on 6/7/13 and according to hallmark this years gift is salt(haha)! This is why this gift would be perfect to celebrate our anniversary together. Yes I got married on 6/7/8 (so I could remember). Thanks!

I'd give it to my grandparents. They for some reason have a lot of flies at their house and we go over there every weekend for BBQ's during the summer. I think everyone would get a kick out of this! rockydoo09@gmail.com

I would use the Bug a Salt Fly Gun for BBQ's, Family Gatherings, Hunting, Hiking, and Camping...I love the Outdoors so you can be sure it would be put to great use..Awesome Product..Thanks, bevans770 at gmail dot com.